The Indian VAS space is gaining global attention with overseas players keen on entering India. One such VAS player, Nimbuzz based out of Netherlands is set to expand into Indian territory with its rich and unique VAS offerings. TelecomTiger speaks to Nimbuzz Founder and CEO, Mr. Evert Jaap Lugt. 

Q.1) The first obvious question which comes in the mind of Indian audience is what is Nimbuzz all about and what is your business model?

Ans. Nimbuzz is free calls, chat and more! All your IM communities are aggregated into a single contact list with icons indicating real-time "presence" - whether contacts are online or offline and from which communities. Using the Internet connection of your mobile phone Nimbuzz lets you call, chat and more, with all your IM buddies for free from one integrated contact list.  Nimbuzz offers an all-in-one solution on the mobile phone, PC and Web, for calling, conference calling, instant messaging, group chat and chat rooms, and photo and file sending across multiple IM communities, including Skype, Windows Live Messenger (MSN), Google Talk, Yahoo!, AIM, Jabber and ICQ, plus 23 social networks including Facebook and Myspace.

We are an advertising based model. Therefore there will be enormous mobile advertising opportunities going forward given our growth and size of our user base.  Our belief is that mobile advertising will be a bigger part in the pie. The ad rates you get for cost-per-click can be very attractive. But what you need for that is a large community in a particular region. Our focus in 08''' is on growth and scalability. Moving forward, our focus in 09' will be on realizing the resulting revenue opportunity. Advertisements will appear when you log-in but there will also be traditional and non-traditional online advertising opportunities when accessing Nimbuzz on the PC or web (including widgets). We will generate these users both organically and via strategic distribution deals with leading social networks and mobile operators. We are also treating this as an "open call" to brands with customers that might benefit from Nimbuzz innovation and technology. We offer a 50/50 revenue split model for social networks that integrate our dedicated platform. There are some major announcements in the pipeline with key operators and online community relationships.

Q.2)  Do you think your services meet all the policies and regulations in India? We ask this question because domestic VoIP has recently been permitted in India but domestic to international VoIP services bypassing country's International Long Distance (ILD) network are still not allowed?

Ans. Nimbuzz is a one stop solution to integrate all your IM communities on one platform, bringing voice to the social networks and making VoIP calls. Hence, we are not merely restricted to VoIP. Our services go beyond that. And though VoIP services are not allowed on ILD network we have dial-in numbers in over 50 countries and are looking to increase that number greatly in the near future.

Nimbuzz wants to make a physical presence in the Indian market by early next year through the mobile operators already present here to ensure a smooth entry. Therefore, we will comply with all the Indian policies and regulations through our strategic partnerships.

Q.3)  What is your global subscriber base and what are your targets for India?

Ans. Nimbuzz currently has more than 1 million registered users and about 25-30% active user base. It is growing at 20 to 25% per month connecting 30 million buddies worldwide. Presently, India has 10% of our registered users, and as a result of our expansion plans, we expect this figure to increase four-fold by year end.

Q.4) In the wake of unavailability of 3G data speeds in India, the prevailing internet speeds in India are not satisfactory. In case of applications like Nimbuzz, the call may drop due to inferior quality GPRS connection. How do you intend to overcome this challenge or will you wait for 3G services to enter India?

Ans. Though we are aware that 3G services are not yet available in India, Nimbuzz works with wi-fi, GPRS and EDGE apart from 3G. We are pretty confident of having the best call quality amongst the current players in the market. As per the feedback received from our Indian users, there have never been any complaints of call drops in our service; a common problem faced with our competition. Besides, Nimbuzz is available on PC and web at home and internet cafés and hence is not just restricted to mobile phones.

Q.5) Will you tie-up with India-specific social networking communities for your services in India. How do they stand to benefit out of such a deal? Also elaborate on your India expansion plans in terms of service offerings, investment, etc.